SF tenant-protection law dies quietly

The 2015 ordinance was an attempt by city officials to respond to a state law called the Ellis Act that allows landlords to evict all their tenants without having to show the usual legal grounds for eviction.

The 2015 ordinance was an attempt by city officials to respond to a state law called the Ellis Act that allows landlords to evict all their tenants without having to show the usual legal grounds for eviction.

Photo: STOCK XCHANGE

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Now, with the flattening rents, you can get this 1BR in SoMa for just $4150. Source: Craigslist

Now, with the flattening rents, you can get this 1BR in SoMa for just $4150. Source: Craigslist

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$4150 is kind of a lot for a 1-BR, but it's the Yerba Buena Lofts! Source: Craigslist

$4150 is kind of a lot for a 1-BR, but it's the Yerba Buena Lofts! Source: Craigslist

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That Yerba Buena 1-BR. Source: Craigslist

That Yerba Buena 1-BR. Source: Craigslist

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And the 1 bath in SoMa. Source: Craigslist

And the 1 bath in SoMa. Source: Craigslist

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It's still not cheap to live here, flat rents or not. This 1-BR in the Castro rents for $3000. Source: Craigslist

It's still not cheap to live here, flat rents or not. This 1-BR in the Castro rents for $3000. Source: Craigslist

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Casto 1-BR has big view. Source: Craigslist

Casto 1-BR has big view. Source: Craigslist

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Castro kitchen. Source: Craigslist

Castro kitchen. Source: Craigslist

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Castro bath. Source: Craigslist

Castro bath. Source: Craigslist

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Moving over to the Panhandle, we find a 2 bed/2 bath renting for $4675. Source: Craigslist

Moving over to the Panhandle, we find a 2 bed/2 bath renting for $4675. Source: Craigslist

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Panhandle living room. Source: Craigslist

Panhandle living room. Source: Craigslist

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Dining are in 2 BR. Source: Craigslist

Dining are in 2 BR. Source: Craigslist

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Panhandle kitchen. Source: Craigslist

Panhandle kitchen. Source: Craigslist

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Panhandle bath. Source: Craigslist

Panhandle bath. Source: Craigslist

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In the Duboce area, you can rent this 2 bed/2 bath now for $3900. Source: Craigslist

In the Duboce area, you can rent this 2 bed/2 bath now for $3900. Source: Craigslist

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Duboce wood and windows. Source: Craigslist

Duboce wood and windows. Source: Craigslist

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Duboce kitchen. Source: Craigslist

Duboce kitchen. Source: Craigslist

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Duboce bedroom, 1 of 2. Source: Craigslist

Duboce bedroom, 1 of 2. Source: Craigslist

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A history of SF rents, via Trulia. The colors represent prices from 1-BR to 4-BR in ascending order.

A history of SF rents, via Trulia. The colors represent prices from 1-BR to 4-BR in ascending order.

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SF rental inventory data, via Trulia. Yellow is one bedrooms, red is two bedrooms, orange is three bedrooms, and blue is four bedrooms.

SF rental inventory data, via Trulia. Yellow is one bedrooms, red is two bedrooms, orange is three bedrooms, and blue is four bedrooms.

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Here is just 2016 to 2017, via Rent Jungle.

Here is just 2016 to 2017, via Rent Jungle.

SF tenant-protection law dies quietly

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San Francisco will not be allowed to require landlords who go out of the rental business to pay their evicted tenants as much as $50,000 to cover the higher rents they’ll face on the open market.

A ruling striking down a city ordinance that would have mandated the payments became final Wednesday when the state Supreme Court declined to review it.

The 2015 ordinance was an attempt by city officials to respond to a state law called the Ellis Act that allows landlords to evict all their tenants without having to show the usual legal grounds for eviction. Sponsored by the real estate industry, the 1985 law was intended as a check on local rent control, but allows local governments to require “reasonable” relocation assistance.

State courts have upheld a 2005 San Francisco ordinance that entitled displaced tenants to $4,500, adjusted annually for inflation, but the same courts found the city went too far with the 2015 measure, which never took effect.

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Sponsored by then-Supervisor David Campos, the ordinance would have required landlords to pay former tenants the difference between their current rent and the market rate for a similar unit in the city for up to two years, up to a maximum of $50,000. Tenants would have to show they were using the funds solely for relocation costs and rents, and landlords who faced hardships could appeal to the city Rent Board to reduce their payments.

In a suit by property owners, lawyers for the city argued that the ordinance was authorized by language in the Ellis Act allowing local governments to protect tenants from “any adverse impact” caused by their landlord’s decision to go out of the rental business.

But the First District Court of Appeal, in a March 21 ruling, said the “adverse impact” on evicted San Francisco tenants was caused by the city’s “policy decision to impose residential rent control” and not by their landlords.

“That policy purposefully causes a tenant’s rent to be artificially below market rate, a gap that could be expected to increase with the length of the tenancy,” Presiding Justice Barbara Jones said in the 3-0 ruling.

She said the city ordinance was “a form of ransom which interferes and places an undue burden on landlords who simply seek to go out of the rental business.”

The city asked the state’s high court to “depublish” the ruling so it would not become a precedent for future cases. The court also said it would consider whether to review and overturn the ruling. But in a unanimous order Wednesday, the justices left the appellate decision intact.